Love You to Death
by bodyandsoul
Summary: A M-rated continuation of Life After Danger, our first collaborative story. Chloe and Derek's relationship is starting to change as the peace they've been enjoying starts to run out.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well well well, we're back again, WOOHOO! :P So here's the run down, my cousin and I had way too much fun writing the first multific, so we're doing another projected ten chapters, picking up from where we left off, with Chloe and Derek at Stonehaven. For those of you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, please see our first multific, Life After Danger, which is T-rated. Please note that this section will be M-rated, and for good reason. :D Three cheers for lemonade! And without further ado, here's Chapter 1 of our new story, hope you guys enjoy! **

Disclaimer: We're not Kelley Armstrong, we don't own DP, we don't own the characters and we make no profit from these stories.

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Oh. Dear. _God_.

"Derek?" I wheezed, too bewildered to do much beyond gape uncomprehendingly. "You're- _they're_- what-…" My voice trailed off as I finally started processing the scene in front of me.

Derek had been deep in conversation with the older man Elena had briefly introduced as Antonio before he'd been pulled into meeting with the other Pack members. At the sound of my voice, he wrenched his head around so quickly that his neck cracked.

"Fuck. Chloe, what are you doing up?"

My eyes, still wide in disbelief, dropped briefly to the perfectly taut, smooth skin that stretched over the side of his hip before I slammed them closed, feeling faintly dizzy as most of my blood rushed to my face.

Conversation had flagged for a moment among the other men, but it resumed slowly, cupboard doors banging, refrigerator door opening and closing as they casually got themselves a bite to eat. Naked.

"I couldn't sleep," I murmured, dropping my head into my hands. "God, I'm sorry." _Well, maybe not that sor- Stop it! You've just seen five naked men, four of whom are _old. _Not bad for forty-year-olds though…Shut up brain!_

The younger guy, Antonio's son Nick, I think, chuckled. "Derek, I thought you said she stays through your Changes."

"But I don't _look_!" I cried, still battling against the images of ridiculously good-looking guys barrelling through the kitchen door in their nothing-ons. Where were their clothes?

I must have made some sort of strangled noise, because I felt the blast-wave of heat as Derek came close, his palm burning even through the fabric of my pyjama top as he laid it on my shoulder.

"You ok?"

"Are you still naked?" I asked miserably, my face still in my hands. As much as I appreciate the few glimpses I get of Derek's amazing body during his Changes, I'd really rather not have an opportunity to gape while surrounded by several other nude people I don't really know.

A little huff of laughter escaped him before he cleared his throat. "Uh. Yeah."

"Where are your clothes? You didn't leave like this."

Jeremy's low voice startled me on my left as he put what sounded like a glass down by my elbow. "Milk," he said, then, "The clearing where we left our clothes is…otherwise occupied at the moment."

I lifted my head automatically to thank him, but then I caught sight of Derek crouched down by my side, his green eyes amused and what seemed like acres of skin bared. It was tempting to let my eyes wander, especially down that faint line of dark hair that wandered…Dammit! As if he knew what I was thinking, Derek's eyes darkened and dropped to my mouth. If this kept up, we'd have a whole other situation to contend with. Not that I would have minded. But with everyone else around, well…I kept my eyes open but made sure to keep them on faces. _Focus, Chloe, focus_. I looked at Jeremy. Most precisely, I made the little birthmark on his right cheek the most important thing in the world at the moment.

"Sorry, you said the clearing is occupied?" I slanted a careful look at the sleek older man Derek had told me was named Karl as he snorted. "I don't understand."

Nick pulled his head out of the fridge and looked over, deep brown eyes twinkling. "You mean you can't hear them?"

Taking a moment to focus my hearing, I was able to catch the faint lilt of laughter from beyond the screen door. It sounded like Elena, and I realized the two tall-blond-and-deadlies weren't wandering through the kitchen in their birthday suits. Funny, I would have been more ok with that, considering I'd already seen everything there was to see.

"They're laughing," I said slowly, raising my brows when Antonio howled with laughter and slapped an oven mitt against the counter. "What? They're-"

And then a very feminine moan drifted from the trees and even in my ignorance of sex beyond the basics of making out, I knew what that meant.

"Oh!" Clearly the usual rules didn't apply at Stonehaven. Four middle-aged men were completely at home while they moved around the kitchen naked, calmly discussing the inconvenience of not being able to get their clothes because a couple was making love on top of them. This was like finding out about the supernatural world all over again. My head started to ache from the strain of carefully keeping my eyes above neck-level and I must have winced, because Derek touched my knee.

"Chloe? Come on, let's go to bed."

He looked worried, probably thinking that this was too much for me. I straightened my spine and gave my head a sharp shake.

"No, I'm alright." I softened my abrupt tone with a touch to his face. "Good thing it's not winter, huh? You'd have frozen without your clothes."

He leaned his head against my hand, enjoying the caress as he offered a lop-sided smile.

"Yeah."

Nick clanked a pot against the range and got a flame going. The noise brought me back into the moment and I tuned back into the conversation as he was griping to his father.

"-tripping over them all the time."

"I could write a book about everything that's happened to us," I said quietly to Derek, "but no one would believe it."

Reassured that I wasn't about to take off screaming or faint away or call for my vinaigrettes, Derek pulled out a chair and settled next to me, stealing a sip from the milk that Jeremy had left for me. After a couple of minutes of listening to the men's banter and teasing, I had almost forgotten that penises lurked, barely hidden behind waist-high counters and under the kitchen table where Karl and Nick had grabbed seats.

Eventually, the two blond lovebirds showed up on the porch, more or less dressed and bearing armfuls of clothes. I wasn't really surprised to see them toss the clothes aside and tuck into sandwiches that were disappearing almost as fast as Antonio and Jeremy could make them, nor was I surprised that no one made a dash for their belongings. At this point, it was just easier to sit and enjoy the food and drinks and worry about stuff like that later.

When Elena finished the last bite of her huge sandwich, she sighed in contentment and relaxed back in her chair, grinning at me. "Welcome to Stonehaven," she said.

"Any other surprises?" I had to ask, distracted as Jeremy came over to hand her a fresh mug. She sipped slowly and pretended to think.

"Hmm. No, I think that's it. Unless you count the skeletons in the backyard."

Every eye landed on me and I cleared my throat anxiously as my gut clenched.

"What? Oh," Elena said, remembering why I might not be quite as amused as most people at that fact. "I'm kidding, Chloe. Jaime's got the bodies under protection, you can't raise them."

Jeremy appeared after having excused himself to pull on his pants. He offered a reserved smile. "Things are a little different around here," he said. Talk about stating the obvious. Nick broke into the odd silence and started ribbing Clay and Elena about their little romp. I felt my eyes widen at the intimate details so I looked at Derek who was just swallowing the last bit of his food.

"So, did you have a good run?"

He nodded, washing down his mouthful with the last of my milk. "It was ok," he said shortly.

"Whaddya mean, just "_ok_"?" Antonio boomed from across the room. Damn werewolf hearing. He threw his hands up. "Your boy out-thought the rest of us and practically brought that deer down single-handedly!"

_Deer? _I thought confusedly. Then it dawned on me; they'd gone hunting while in wolf form. _Oh_. Derek wouldn't meet my eyes. I saw Jeremy's observation and realized that he might think I was bothered or disgusted by that.

_Was_ I bothered by that? I'd seen Derek kill, but only ever in self-defence, not as part of a hunt. Looking at him, I couldn't find a single drop of disgust or revulsion in me, and I decided that I was ok with it. _Well_, I thought, running my tongue over my teeth thoughtfully, _as long as he brushes his teeth before kissing me_.

Under the table, I hooked my foot around Derek's ankle and smiled at him. "Oh, yeah? Sounds like you had a good time."

A strange look passed over his face and he got up rather abruptly, snagging his pants and tugging them on, then urging me up and wrapping my smaller hand in his as he started leading me towards the hall. I bemusedly waved to the group in the kitchen as I followed my boyfriend, curious about his abrupt retreat.

I was half expecting – ok, fine, hoping… - that I'd get tackled as soon as the door closed. But Derek only gave me a gentle push towards the bed as he searched for his towel and toiletry kit. I went compliantly. If he wasn't going to tackle me, then I was darn well going to tackle him, but I kind of wanted him to brush his teeth first. Nothing ruins the moment like finding deerskin in your boyfriend's teeth.

I doubt anyone could blame me for that.

"I'm just going to jump in the shower," he said by way of explanation as I hopped back into the nest of blankets and got comfortable.

"Ok. I'll wait for you."

"Don't go sneaking back downstairs now," he said with a little chuckle, but I wondered if he was thinking of the too-handsome Nick. I shook my head slowly, my eyes on his as I smiled.

"Only you," I said firmly. He winked and disappeared down the hall. I curled up and watched the door, my body tight and warm and tingling with the knowledge that we had this room to ourselves for the whole night. The possibilities raced through my head and I grinned into my pillow. _Hurry up_, I thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Hey there readers, Briee here. Hope you guys enjoyed our previous story as well as the previous chapter! My cousin and I agreed that the next section, this story, should be rated M because things get too heavy for just a T rating. We couldn't help it. All those sexy werewolves have invaded our brains. Who needs vampires when we could have Derek? *Sigh*… I'll have to go find my own real life space heater it seems. Chloe isn't up to sharing….**

**bodyandsoul: I'm so sorry about the wait, but unfortunately we're both a little busy with school, so we're going to have to move this down to updating every other week. :( I really do feel badly about this, but I'm in my last year and I really can't afford to screw things up now! We've gotten a couple of comments about the beginning being a little abrupt and while I agree with those comments, it was also intentional. Kelley Armstrong didn't start off EXACTLY where she left off in between books, and we're treating these stories in a similar way. Never fear, you will find out what happened with Jaime and all that in the next chapter or two, when Chloe gets a chance to sit down with her family and tell them about their trip. :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: we're not Kelley Armstrong, we don't own these characters and we make no money from this.**

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The moment Derek walked into the room, I knew things were going to be different. With just his towel on, he looked delectable and I had a sudden urge to whip off the towel and investigate what was underneath.

My fingers clutched the bedspread instead.

"I didn't think about grabbing clothes," Derek said, opening a drawer and pulling out a pair of boxers. "I can go change in the bathroom though if you want."

I shook my head. "Just change in here. I'll even close my eyes if you want." I put my hand over my eye, but left a small gap so that I could see through.

A small twitch curled the corner of his lip upwards. "That's cheating. I know you can see me."

"Oh really now?" I sighed dramatically and put my hand down. My eyes met his and I could see the fire burning behind them.

The hunt must have done him well because not only did his eyes shine, his cheeks were flushed and he didn't look on edge.

I'm not sure if it was the flushed cheeks or the knowledge that a quick tug on the towel would get Derek naked, but I got up from the bed. Maybe it was a combination of both. However, I sauntered over to Derek, who just stood there holding his towel in one hand and his boxers in the other.

"Chloe…" His voice held a dangerous edge to it but it thrilled me. I felt like I was doing something naughty… and I loved it.

Before he could move to grab my wrists, I tugged on the towel and it fell to the ground. A slow grin crossed my face.

Derek Souza looked damn fine naked. And I couldn't wait to join him.

"Like what you see?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Quite." I moved forward but he stopped me, holding his finger up. I cocked my head to the side, a silent question.

In a quick motion, he tugged on his boxers before tackling me onto the bed. I didn't even have time to protest the clothing before his mouth was on mine.

His hips found home as they settled between my legs. My body heated up even more as I felt how much he wanted me. Kissing my neck, he drew a moan out of me.

His lips found mine again and I tasted minty toothpaste.

Derek pushed himself against me and I mirrored his movements. My mind went blank; my body was doing all the thinking.

Before I knew it, my shirt went sailing to the floor. This was familiar territory, the kissing, the touching, the desperate way our bodies strained together. But one thing was different. Tonight, there'd be no Simon barging in, no Tori yelling at us to stop having sex (even though we weren't there yet), or Aunt Lauren conveniently calling when she knew Derek would be over. Tonight, we could do whatever we wanted and no one would stop us.

Derek's hands cupped my breast and squeezed softly. His mouth left mine to tease my nipple and I shivered in delight. I wanted him to go lower, to use that mouth of his somewhere else on me. I didn't even have time to voice the thought when I felt his lips start their journey south. Reaching the top of my pjs, he nearly pulled them off when he stopped.

"What's wrong?" I asked, panting. I wanted him to continue what he was doing as fast as possible.

"There are penguins on your shorts."

The logic was lost on me. "What?" I propped myself onto my elbows.

Derek shook his head. "I can't do this. You're wearing penguin pjs. I can't deflower a girl with cute animals on her shorts."

"What?" I sighed deeply and let myself fall back down on the bed. "You're kidding me right?"

He crawled up my body and gave me a kiss on the lips. "I wasn't going to let it get that far anyways."

I could feel the wall closing on us rapidly. Fire was still in my veins and a there was a pressing need between my legs. "And you can't overlook over the fact that there are penguins on my shorts?"

I felt anger starting to slip in. How dare he! It wasn't just up to him.

"It's just, I don't think we're ready for that step."

"Derek Souza, two seconds ago, you were so ready to go past that step and more. So don't you dare tell me we aren't ready."

My shirt was handed back to me in silence. How could he turn his desire on and off like that? I was still ready to climb the walls.

I wanted to cry and scream all at the same time. Doubt flickered in my mind. Was something wrong with me? Was I not pretty enough for him? Maybe he didn't think I was into it enough. Maybe I was too forward with taking off the towel?

Tears welled up in my eyes. The sting of rejection filled me up, pushing away the sexual frustration I was feeling a minute ago.

Curling up onto my side, I felt tears run down my face.

Derek didn't try to cuddle with me that night.

The next morning, sunshine hit my face along with a wave of pain in my head. A headache had formed from all the crying and emotional exhaustion from the night before. Rolling over, there was Derek, standing by the door with breakfast.

"I brought you some toast and fruit," he said, trying to give me a grin. We could both feel the tension. I vaguely wondered if I could hide out here all day. It's not like Clay, Elena or Jeremy would care. That just left Derek and or maybe Jaime to try and get me out of bed.

"I'm not hungry," I said, knowing it sounded like a pouting child. No wonder Derek didn't want to sleep with me. He probably still thought of me as some kid. I caught a glimpse of my curveless body in the mirror over the dresser. Hell, I still looked like a kid.

My terrible mood plummeted even farther.

He put the tray down and sat on the bed. "About last night…"

"I don't want to hear it. You rejected me, that tells me everything I need to know."

"I didn't reject you…"

"Oh no? Wow, cause I thought that's what happened last night. My mistake."

Frustrated, Derek scowled. "You don't get it." He made a motion to get up but I wasn't done yet.

"Why don't you explain it then? Cause right now, I feel rejected."

"You don't understand what it's like. Always trying to be in control, to make sure I don't hurt anyone. I lost control last night. I let things get too far. I cannot let that happen."

"If I didn't want you to do those things, I would have told you to stop."

"But if you had said no, I'm not sure I could have stopped."

"Good thing I didn't say no." I made sense in my mind; I was just hoping Derek would see it that way.

He shook his head. "Look, can we just not fight about this? Please?" The look he gave me melted my heart. I didn't want to fight either. And although I was still upset about how things ended last night, I sighed and took a bite of toast.

"If anything like that happens again though, you need to just let it be. If I didn't want it, I would have said so. I know you want to be in control, but sometimes, you are allowed to let go of the reins just a bit."

Derek shook his head. "Bad things could happen." I knew he was thinking of that kid with the broken spine.

I touched his arm, trying to get him to focus on me. "Bad things can always happen. I could get hit by lightning tomorrow or slip in the shower. Hell, I could choke on this piece of toast." Derek eyed the bread like he wanted to snatch it away from me. "Derek, the point is: bad things will happen. You can't stop them. What you can do however, is make the most of the good things." I hoped he understood my meaning.

I could see the wheels turning in his head as he thought about this. "Eat up," he said finally. "Jaime was looking for you. She wanted to talk about something." He gave me a kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you later."

As I was finishing up my breakfast, there was a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" I heard Jamie ask. I guess she had found me. I vaguely wondered if Derek had told her where I was.

"Just a minute!" I got out of bed and changed into a bra, t-shirt and some jeans. The sight of my pj shorts on the floor made my heart hurt but I pushed those thoughts away. I ran a hand through my hair and opened the door.

Jaime smiled at me. "It makes me sad that you're leaving today. But," she handed me a piece of paper, "in case anything happens, necromancer stuff or otherwise, you can always call. My phone is always on. Unless I've let it die and misplaced my charger."

"Does that happen a lot?"

She shrugged. "It's been known to happen." Jaime leaned in and put her arms around me. Hugging me she said, "Either way, just call. Any time. I know ghosts aren't on any particular schedule and don't always follow ours. Late night ghosts have appeared. Or if it's boy troubles, I have some experience with it. Limited, but still some. At least for relationship stuff. Other stuff, a bit more. But that sounds bad…"

To stop her from rambling, I thanked her. She let go of me and smiled. "Don't let his moods bother you. Just let him sulk and he'll get over it." When we heard a grumble by the door, we both laughed. "Werewolf hearing," Jaime chuckled.

I had a feeling she wasn't trying to be discreet.

Derek came in, looked at us and shook his head. "You ready to go? Elena is ready to drive us to the bus station."

Looking around, I noticed our backpacks sitting by the dresser. "Did you pack our stuff this morning?"

He shrugged. "I didn't sleep much."

I gave him a smile, trying to smooth away the tension. I went to grab our bags, but Derek beat me to it. Slinging both backpacks over his shoulder, he nodded to the door.

Jaime slipped out before us and was waiting for us by the door. Jeremy was there as well, but Clay was nowhere to be seen. In the other room, I could hear the twins' laughter and a deep voice telling the kids to sit down. I guess Clay was in the kitchen, in hearing distance in case something happened.

"You're always welcome at Stonehaven," Jeremy said to us. "Have a nice trip back."

Derek nodded at him and I gave Jeremy a small smile. Jaime had said her goodbye upstairs, so she just smiled and told me to call her anytime.

Elena waited for us in the Prius and we took off once Derek and I had gotten into the back seat. It was a silent ride and when we got to the bus station, Elena told us pretty much the same thing Jeremy had, gave me a wink and a smile and honked twice as she drove off.

Elena left and we went to wait in the bus station. There was a coffee shop and Derek bought us a thermos of hot chocolate. Spring had arrived, but it was an overcast day and with the wind it was slightly chilly.

We got onto the bus and found a seat near the back. Opening the thermos, Derek passed me the first cup. Sipping on the warm chocolate, I wondered if there was ever going to be a way for Derek to just give up his control for a short time. I wanted him; what was so wrong with that? Our obvious attraction and needs have to be met at some time. As much as I didn't want to, I had a feeling that a chat with Tori might help me.

I looked at Derek and I could see his face was drawn. There was no hint of the pure joy he felt last night. That haunted look had returned to his eyes and the flush was gone.

I wanted to ask him what was wrong, or even if he was okay. But I knew Derek; he wasn't going to be honest about it. I might as well ask a painting how it felt about hanging on the wall.

Derek surprised me by leaning over and kissing my cheek. "Did you like Jaime?"

"Yeah, she's pretty cool. She's nothing like Margaret."

"Good. You need someone you can talk to."

"Did you enjoy your time at Stonehaven? Jeremy seems nice."

A hint of a smile appeared on Derek's face. "Yeah, I did actually. Jeremy and I were, ah, actually planning my next visit."

"Oh?" I drained my cup and handed it back to Derek, who poured some hot chocolate for himself. "Just your visit?"

"Well, it falls during your exam time, so I said you might not be able to come. Anyways, it's a pack meet, so... But if you don't have an exam, I'm sure you can come along."

"What day is it?"

"Jeremy will call and tell me when it's set. But enough about that. Is your dad back from his trip yet?"

I thought for a moment. "I think he's back tomorrow."

"Want to come for supper tonight?"

"Sure."

Derek gave me a smile. It melted my heart and I couldn't be frustrated with him anymore. He leaned in and kissed me. We didn't exchange many words afterwards, but the tension surrounding us was gone.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Briee here. So we've needed some action in this story for some time now, and I don't just mean between Chloe and Derek. And so we are trying to come up with something witty and original to keep you guys on your toes. Or at least keep you from falling asleep on us.**

**A/N: bodyandsoul here guys. I know this has been a disaster so far in terms of regular updates, and I do apologize profusely for that, but having my computer completely crap out on me mere hours before we were ready to post this chapter and the subsequent week-long nightmare of getting it fixed are to blame, along with school kicking my behind this semester. Anyways, this chapter's finally up and Briee's taking care of the next one, so you'll get your next couple of updates in a timely manner. **** We WILL finish this story, never fear, but please be patient with us (ok fine, me) through the process. Thankees! Hope you all enjoy!**

Disclaimer: We aren't Kelley Armstrong, we don't own the rights to the series nor can we claim ownership of the characters. This is just for fun. :)

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For once, I was the one to drag Tori to the mall. Usually, although she could never admit it, she begs and pleads and promises to buy me an ice cream so that I go with her. So when I asked her to join me to a trip to the mall, let's just say she was a little suspicious. I was glad she held her tongue until we got into the car.

It took the time to start the car before she started with the twenty questions.

"So why are we going to the mall?"

"I want to go shopping."

"For what?"

God. Why did I want to bring Tori along again? Oh right. Cause Derek would have insisted he come with me and I couldn't explain this to him.

"I uh, well. I wanted to buy some stuff."

""Stuff"," she repeated suspiciously, eyeing me.

"Yes."

A long pause, then she sighed impatiently. "For god's sake, Chloe, spit it out already. You know I'll just make you tell me one way or another."

"I want to get some…well, lingerie." I could feel my cheeks burn slightly at the comment.

"Aw, doesn't wolfie like your pyjamas?"

Cheeks flaring even more, I stuttered. "Well, it's j-j-just…" I was a little embarrassed and not too sure how to replay the story. "When Derek and I went to Stonehaven, things got a little…"

"Intense?"

"Yes." Why wasn't there anyone else's mercy that I could throw myself on? "And well, he got all weird and stopped when he saw that there were penguins on my shorts." The feeling of rejection pushed at me but I refused to let it in.

"You're kidding me, right? Wolf boy finally gets some alone time with you and he can't get over the animals on your pyjamas? Maybe he was afraid of wanting to tear them off with his teeth. Although wolves don't eat penguins…"

I giggled at her comment, making me feel a bit better.

"So you plan on seducing him with sexy underwear? Hm. I like this plan. Derek's way too high strung. Getting laid would do him good."

Count on Tori to be blunt, but I had to agree with her.

We parked near the entrance to the food court and as I turned around to note the number on the lamppost, my eyes met those of a tall, good-looking blond guy in a red baseball cap. He had nice eyes, but it was the intensity of his stare that made my steps falter as I stared in confusion.

"What are you doing?" Tori's voice brought my head around. She looked up from rummaging in her purse, dark brows furrowed.

"That guy," I brought my arm up to point, but when I looked back, he was gone, and I felt a cold tingle down my spine. Jaime had mentioned that sometimes ghosts tried to get our attention, to make sure that we could see them before they tried to make contact. I shrugged, laughing a little uneasily as I jogged to catch up. "Never mind."

Once in the mall, we made our way over to the closest Victoria's Secret in hope of finding something. A nagging fear started in the back of my mind. What if I just looked ridiculous? My body wasn't sexy or curvy. I have all the sex appeal of a ten year-old girl. Actually, I've seen ten year-old girls with bigger breasts than me. Out-vamped by tweens…how pathetic.

Tori grabbed a silky slip off the rack and held it up to my body. "Think red is his color? Or maybe a more innocent pink would be better." Before I could even comment, she grabbed a blue matching bra and panties set. "This could work. Brings out your eyes." Giving me a once over, she exchanged the set in her hand for another one and handed it to me. "This should be your size."

I looked at the tag and felt a shock as I saw the right size. "You're good." The tense muscles in my shoulders relaxed a little. I had done the right thing by asking Tori for her help.

When I got to the changing rooms, the woman gave me a look as if I didn't belong in the store. I had to urge to look down at my chest and protest that I was allowed since I wore a bra. Technically. She opened one of the stalls with a raised eyebrow and as soon as I locked the door I started trying on the items Tori had picked.

The bra and panties looked ridiculous on me, though I had to admit I liked the way the bra pretended I had cleavage. The panties were pretty tame, just a little lace on them. Grateful that Tori hadn't tried sticking me into a thong set, I skimmed them off and put them on the bench. Next I tried the slip and as soon as it was on, I felt a tingle of sexiness. I did a twirl and attempted a sexy look. It looked good on me. The light rose colour made my skin look lightly flushed and dewy and when I pulled the elastic out of my hair, it fell in soft, subtle waves down my back. Wow.

"And?" Trust to Tori's impatience. She knocked on the door. "Chloe? What's doing?"

"I, uh, I think I'm going to get both things."

She chuckled with satisfaction. "I haven't lost my touch. Ok, well, let's pay, I still wanted to go check out the Apple store."

I paid for the slip and the blue set, a small grimace on my face about the exorbitant price, and Tori and I left. As we walked around the corner, I had a sudden urge to look behind me. Was someone there? I did a quick check, but I couldn't see anyone looking out of place. A flash of red made me gasp as I swivelled my head around again, my neck muscles protesting. A little girl dashed by, a red balloon bobbing from the string around her wrist.

Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to Tori. But the feeling of being followed nagged at me. _Was_ it a ghost?

"Tori, do you feel like you're being watched? Like someone's following us?"

Carefully, Tori looked around but shook her head. "No. Why? Think it might be a ghost?"

I pursed my lips. "I don't know. It's just this creepy feeling I have."

"You might just be hungry. Let's go eat. I'm starving."

The whole time Tori and I were at the mall, I felt watched. But there didn't seem like anyone was out of place. Could I just be paranoid? Derek would tell me that's a good thing.

When we got back, I made sure to stash my purchase away in a drawer I was sure Derek wouldn't look in. It would be to take out next time we had some alone time. I worried for a moment when that would be.

When Derek asked about our trip, I told him about feeling followed, but played it down saying it was probably just a ghost looking to talk. He eyed me suspiciously, and I grumbled a little internally in mixed pleasure and annoyance that he could read me so well.

"You got a little spooked, huh?" he said after a minute, sliding his arm around my waist. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"A little, yeah. It's hard to relax."

His chest rose and fell on a silent huff of laughter. "You're telling me. I'm always watching, always waiting." He fell silent for a moment and then suddenly gathered me onto his lap in an abrupt hug. "I worry about you when I'm not around. A lot." A sigh fluttered my hair.

"Me, too," I murmured into his neck, luxuriating in the woodsy smell of his shirt.

"You have to be careful." I poked him in the ribs in retaliation for the sharp tone, but I knew only too well the nagging fear that plagued him when it came to all of our safety. It was the same fear that kept me awake at night, horrible visions playing out in my mind. It was what drove us all to help the other kids involved in the experiments, to find Rae.

"I will. I promise." And I meant it. Ha. I had no idea how little that promise would come to mean.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: bodyandsoul here guys. Briee has delivered another AMAZING chapter, (way to go, cuz!) and I am posting it right away for your viewing pleasure. Again, I'm so sorry about the horrible mess that has happened with the posting schedule, but seeing as how I will have my computer back tomorrow, fully upgraded (and virus-free), I hereby commit myself to making sure the rest of our chapters are posted in a timely manner. I PROMISE (not something I do lightly!) to have this story wrapped up by Christmas. Thanks again to all of you for your patience, and a SPECIAL thank you to those who have sent encouraging comments and reviews. You guys are the very best. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: We aren't Kelley Armstrong, we don't own these characters and we make no money from this. We do, however, retain the right to X-rated dreams/daydreams about Derek. Rawr.

I felt a flutter of fingers tap along the inside of my thigh. I shivered and tried moving closer. Lips covered my neck and I could feel slight pressure as Derek bit me, careful to keep his lips over his teeth.

"Don't stop this time," I said.

I felt his head nod as he kept kissing me. I vaguely worried about a hickey but his fingers slipped into my panties and all I could do was moan.

"Chloe…"

I pushed my pelvis upwards in an attempt to ease the pressure building.

All I could hear was his ragged breathing in my ear. I was going crazy with desire.

"Derek…" It came out breathy and pleading. I wanted him to hit that sweet spot.

"Chloe, wake up."

Shit! My eyes flew open and I could see Derek sitting on my bed, a slightly bemused smile on his face. His nose twitched and I felt my face heat up. He could smell my desire. Oh god. Damn those wolf senses.

"Good dream?" he asked. I swore he was trying not to grin.

"What are you doing here?"

"Movie day."

"Oh. Right. That's today?"

"You're the one who insisted."

"Right." I looked at my alarm clock and sighed. "I forgot to set it. No wonder I'm not up. How did you get in?"

"I have a set of keys, remember? You gave them to me just in case."

"Right." I was saying that a lot. Hello brain. Please wake up now. And stop thinking of Derek doing naughty things to you. I saw his nose twitch again and I dragged my mind to other things. "Let me just get dressed and I'll meet you in the living room in just a moment."

"Simon and Tori are in the car waiting. So hurry it up. I'd rather not have to explain to Dad why they killed each other."

I laughed and shooed him from my room.

When I got out of my room, Derek swooped me up in a big hug, planting his lips on mine. "I would have loved to let you keep dreaming. If it wasn't for Simon and Tori in the car…" he said, murmuring against my lips. He set me down, took my hand and made a beeline for the door.

I stumbled slightly wondering if that had just happened. I wanted to know what would have taken place.

We got into the car and Simon and Tori were arguing about something or another. Was it computers? My brain wasn't paying attention. All I could think of was my dream and of Derek's arms around me.

At the video store, we agreed to each pick out a film. I headed straight to the comedy section, willing to avoid action and fantasy films ever since the ordeal of the Edison group. And who could blame me? As I chose between two films, a flash of red caught my eye. Turning around quickly, I didn't see anything except for an elderly couple and a teen looking at the comedy movies at the end of aisle. I tried casually glancing at them to see if they looked familiar. Maybe they were at the mall yesterday? But I couldn't say for sure. I wanted to laugh at myself for being paranoid.

I walked past the couple and the teen still trying to see if I recognized them. When I spotted the woman's red bag, I suddenly felt silly. That was the flash of red I saw.

Derek was in the other aisle with Simon and Tori who for once were agreeing on the cheesiness of some film. I moved close to him and took his hand. I didn't want paranoid thoughts to creep in and ruin my day. We destroyed the Edison group. They weren't coming for us. There was nothing to fear.

I took one more quick look around before we left the video store, but when I realized no one was looking in our direction, I felt a bit better. Maybe it was a ghost watching me yesterday. Or maybe there was nothing at all and my nerves were getting the better of me. It was hard for me to think my life was ever going to be normal again.

When we got to Simon and Derek's, I slipped away to the kitchen to call Jaime for a moment.

"Hey Chloe, what's up?"

"I hope I'm not bothering you, but I had a question."

I could hear laughter in the background, a deep rumble and a high pitched squeal. "Sure. Let me just get out of the room. Kate's decided to use Jeremy as a jungle gym." There was more laughing before the sound got cut off. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I was just… I feel a little silly but at the mall yesterday I thought someone was following me. But Tori said she didn't see anyone out of the ordinary. So I started wondering if it was a ghost."

Jaime and I discussed the possibility of a ghost trying to contact me. "Just keep your eyes open. The buggers like to sneak up at the wrong time just to see how you'll react. You would think they'd have learnt that if you get freaked out you might not want to talk to them?" I heard her sigh. "If this ghost keeps popping up but not talking to you, either ignore them so they bother some other necromancer or call them out. Just be ready to banish them if they get too out of hand."

I thanked her and we said our goodbyes. A pair of arms wrapped around me and I leaned into Derek.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," I said, sighing slightly. We stayed like that for a moment before Simon and Tori walked in discussing snacks.

"Are you guys done kissing yet?" Tori asked.

"We weren't even kissing."

"You probably would have started if we didn't walk in."

I rolled my eyes. It was such a Tori comment.

That night, Derek drove me home. Walking me to the door, I invited him inside. I knew my dad wasn't going to be home until tomorrow and I had some hopes to make my dream from last night a reality.

We sat on my bed and talked about the movies we watched. Well, it was more me talking about them and Derek nodding with the occasional input.

There was a silence that followed when I stopped talking and it didn't take long for Derek's lips to meet mine.

Soon, we were reclining and Derek lay beside me, still kissing me. His hand was on my waist and it moved up to cup my cheek.

It was sweet, nothing like the kisses we had shared at Stonehaven, or even the overblown, passionate kisses in my dreams.

But just as things starting heating up, Derek's phone went off. He pressed his lips to my neck. "Screw off, I'm busy."

Far be it from me to argue, especially when he deepened that kiss against my neck, sucking lightly. He hadn't shaved that day, and the stubble rasped against me with a devastatingly sensual tickle. A beep emanated from his pocket; someone had left a message. Within seconds, the phone began to ring again. Ok, whoever this was 1) had horrible timing and 2) must have something really important to tell Derek. If it was Simon, calling to yell "Stop having sex!" again, I would personally see to his imminent destruction.

Grumbling, Derek stretched out next to me, pulling the demon phone out of his pocket and putting it to his ear. "What?" Rolling my eyes at his abrupt "greeting", I poked him, glowering with one eyebrow raised when he made at attempt at the innocent face. _Who, me?_ Derek is a man of many talents. Innocence is not one of them.

I didn't hear who was on the other end, but since Derek only groaned and said, "Fine, tell him I'll be home soon", I figured Simon had decided to save the prank calls for another day. Lucky me.

"You have to go?"

"Dad wants me back. Jeremy called."

Disappointment fluttered across my face before I could stop it. "Oh."

Derek gave me another kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I nodded, getting up with him. I walked him to the door where I got another kiss. "Sweet dreams," he said.

I smiled. "You too."

"Oh, I will." He winked and left, leaving me standing there with my mouth open slightly.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, we're back! Apparently this story actually might work out after all! Thanks to all the loyal readers who've stuck around so patiently, hope you enjoy. I'll have the next chapter up possibly even a little before the due date (let's hope the homework gods smile upon me…). So without further ado, please read on.**

_Disclaimer: We are not Kelley Armstrong, we don't own these characters, we make no money from this. Sucks to be us. _

_

* * *

_Popcorn in hand, I was walking by the front door at Aunt Lauren's just in time to hear a bang and see a blinding flash of light that was followed by a yelp. My heart started to race as I scrambled to get to the door. Tori wrenched it open, narrowly missing my outstretched hand.

"Tori? What's going-"

She stayed on the other side of the threshold, glaring as Travis or Dave or Steve or whoever the current flavour of the week was as he scuttled to his car, doubled over in…pain?

"That's right, you run!" she yelled after him and he moved even faster, throwing himself into the car and starting it in one movement. I could hear the locks click from the stoop. When he was safely in, he lowered a window.

"Crazy bitch!"

Tori smiled purposefully and took one step forward. "Crazy? Oh, I'll show you crazy…"

She didn't have time to take another step; the guy was already reversing down the driveway at breakneck speed, his wide eyes betraying his moment of bravado.

Tori chuckled, shaking her head as she turned to come in and saw my face.

"Mr. Wiggles won't be getting any love for a while," she said, stretching out her fingers and inspecting the tiny sizzles of electricity that covered them. "Although I'm pretty sure Mr. Wiggles will be glad of the break. That new shock spell is freaking awesome."

I closed the door and locked it as she came in, tucking the popcorn – still miraculously in its bowl – against my stomach.

"Jeez, Tori, did the guy really deserve a shock spell…there?"

She gave me a look, her left eyebrow gliding easily up almost to her hairline. Impressive.

"One crummy date after classes to a burger joint, he offers me a lift home and thinks I'm going to blow him?"

Oh. Colour flamed to my cheeks at her blunt words; they made me think of what I had been planning on doing with Derek the next time we got some time alone. Focus, Chloe, focus. "In that case, you should've amped up the shock a little more."

A laugh. "I know, right?"

Derek stuck his head into the hallway from where he and Simon had been playing a video game in the living room, eyes narrowed. "Simon and I will have a little chat with him tomorrow."

"How-" she started to ask, but slapped a palm to her forehead. "I always forget about the hearing!"

I shrugged. "Tori, the guy deserves it. What a creep."

Simon's head replaced Derek's in the doorway. "Don't worry, he'll still be in one piece when we're done." He held up a fist. Tiny blue flames danced across his knuckles. "Mostly."

Eyes rolled skywards at the chest-puffing, strutting displays of manliness, I headed into the living room, handed over the popcorn and settled into the ultra-wide, extra-stuffed reading chair by the window, my thoughts turned inwards away from the screaming, exploding, chain-sawing noises from the video game Simon was currently winning.

After Tori had ditched her backpack in her room, she came to join us. It was rare that we'd all hang out at Aunt Lauren's; we tended to go to Kit's house just because both boys were there. But Aunt Lauren had called last night, asking if we could all meet up at her place and promising vast quantities of her pasta-and-meatballs. As if either of the two endless pits of hunger currently beating trolls with branches or some such nonsense would say no to those.

Derek apparently lost the round and grudgingly handed the remote over to Tori, looking over at me. I offered up a vaguely distracted smile and went back to my musings, blushing as I realized how very grateful I was that none of our powers included the ability to read minds; romance novels beware, I was harbouring some pretty steamy scenes of my own at the moment, and watching Derek while he was absorbed in helping Simon cheat so that he could beat Tori wasn't helping.

That thin white t-shirt shouldn't even count as clothing, my brain muttered. Each shift brought muscles into clear definition and there's just something about watching a guy's back, the broad spread of their shoulders that tapers so nicely to that tiny hint of skin above the waistbands of pants and boxers. The urge to go peel that shirt off of him and press my face to the warm, woodsy-scented skin between his shoulder blades was almost overwhelming. I cleared my throat and took a deep drag on my water bottle, my body melting and twisting in that achy, familiar way.

"Ha!" Tori shrieked, triumphantly jabbing buttons as Simon's avatar lost the battle and collapsed. The spell broke and I jumped, earning a little grin from Derek; I rarely got startled by him anymore but I was just as jumpy as ever the rest of the time.

Aunt Lauren's voice carried in easily from the kitchen. "Guys, dinner's ready."

We all knew why she had tried so hard to get us all over for dinner tonight; Greg was in town. A lawyer who had done some pro bono work with Kit, he and Aunt Lauren had hit it off the first time they'd met, and I knew she was pretty serious about him and desperately wanted our (and my) approval. After all, we had been living and working as a family unit for a couple of years and any outsider coming in would have to be highly scrutinized. He seemed nice and all, but I didn't like the idea of Aunt Lauren dating someone not from the supernatural community; if we ever had to run, she'd either have to leave him, or I'd have to leave her. Either option upset me, but I tried to keep down the resentment towards Greg. The poor guy had no idea who he was eating dinner with.

The meal went well despite Derek's persistent scowl and Tori's general bitchiness. I didn't blame her; she lived with Aunt Lauren and had to put up with Greg way more than the rest of us. She was so annoyed with his ever-lasting niceness by the end of the evening that Derek told her that if she shut up and got a bag together, he'd drop her off at my place. I didn't care if she stayed over; Simon and I had plans to go to the huge new electronics store to check out video cameras the next day.

"I'll leave you lovebirds to say goodnight," Tori said later, sliding out of the car. "Thanks for the lift."

Simon had taken his own car to his sort-of-girlfriend's place to hang out for a bit, so once Tori disappeared into the condo, Derek hit the locks and I met him halfway between our seats with a kiss.

"We need some alone time soon," he grumbled a few minutes later. Breathlessly sprawled across the console and halfway into his lap, I fervently agreed with another kiss. Kissing Derek was always good, but tonight it was electric. When his lips touched my neck I arched up and moaned softly at the rasp of his stubble.

"Wow," he murmured, face still in my neck, one arm around me and one thumb brushing rhythmically back and forth on the skin along my waistband. I loved the feeling. A shudder ran through him when I grabbed hold of his shoulders, my nails leaving little half-moon crescents in his skin.

"I can't take much more of this," I gasped. His head lifted, dark hair falling in his eyes as he pinned me with his stare. I got lost in those eyes for a moment.

"What did you say?" His voice was low.

I started to shiver at his tone, but not from fear. "I can't take much more of this," I repeated.

With a wordless growl, he came in for a kiss that left my head spinning. His warm, soft lips were rough on mine, and there was none of his usual patience, waiting for me to coax him to kiss me harder, deeper, sliding my tongue against his first. No, this time he kissed me without a moment's hesitation, without worry and my eyes rolled back in my head for a moment at the sensation before I mentally slapped myself and got with the program. Well, at least until a cab pulled up and honked loudly, impatient to get the spot where Derek was idling.

"Fuck," he groaned, pulling back reluctantly.

"I vote you make him go away." My voice, usually soft and moderately pitched came out hoarse and throaty and I saw the flash of pure heat in Derek's eyes. Wow. This blatant use of my feminine wiles was empowering. Maybe there was something to putting on sexy lingerie and revelling in the power.

Before Derek decided to stuff the cabbie into a sewer or something, I shifted back to my seat and collected myself. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Be careful," he said, his eyes still glowing in the dark. That stare made my skin feel warmer. "And if you can't be careful-"

"-I'll run like hell," I finished, smiling over my shoulder at him as I got out. With all the adrenaline rushing through me right now I could probably outrun anyone, I thought ruefully as I waved to the doorman and hopped into the elevator. How was I supposed to sleep now?

Despite my concerns, I slept just fine, Tori's snoring from the spare bedroom reassuring instead of annoying like it usually was. I was up way before her and had time to do a load of laundry before Simon arrived.

"Two seconds," I promised, dashing back to my room to grab my purse. With the fashionably huge tote (thanks, Tori) slung over my shoulder, I hit the lights in my room and tripped on an untied shoelace.

"Jeez, Chloe!" Simon caught my arm as I careened into the living room and very nearly face-planted on the marble floors. Once I was steady, I shot him a grateful – if somewhat sheepish – smile.

"Thanks."

He shoved his hair back with an anxious motion; it was getting long and desperately needed a trim. "I don't even want to think about what Derek would do to me if something happened to you while you were with me." He mock-shivered in fear.

As I locked the door behind us, I had to chuckle. "Well, you've gotten pretty good with that binding spell."

"Yeah, 'cause that's all that'd be standing between me and total annihilation," he muttered ruefully as we stepped into the elevator.

I couldn't help but laugh.

Being around Simon definitely lightened my mood. It was always fun to spend time with him; we never run out of things to talk about and the easiness of being with him brings me out of my shell like little else can. I was glad there was none of that awkward crush-like behaviour that was happening anymore. Simon was a good friend, but that's all we were ever going to be.

And if it came down to it, Derek (and myself) knew Simon could protect me if things got ugly.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: bodyandsoul here guys; Briee will be handling the next chapter. :) So here's some long-awaited action to help shake things up a little. Not much else to say. Hope you enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: We are not Kelley Armstrong, we don't own the rights to these characters, we make no money from this. Blah, blah, blah..._

* * *

Simon's eyes lit up as we walked into the electronics store.

"I know I'm a pen-and-paper guy," Simon said, already bee-lining for the MacBooks, "but…yeah. Wow."

He touched the iconic silver case of the laptop with reverence but sighed when he saw the price tag. I hid my smile; we had all chipped in to get him one as a graduation gift that he'd be getting soon enough.

"Daddy'll come back for you one day, precious," he murmured lovingly to the computer, looking up sheepishly when I snickered. "What?"

Instantly, I affected a sober face. "Nothing. You're just a little freaky, that's all."

"Ha, look who's talking!" he teased and slung his arm lightly around my shoulders as he steered us towards the video cameras. "And maybe it makes me a little crazy, but I really love that hunk of machine."

Tapping a finger against my chin in mock thought, I grinned. "Want to sell me your brother in exchange for one?"

He laughed, a sound that had every female head in the vicinity turning. "If I'm ever that tempted to sell brother-dearest into slavery, I don't think I'd sell him to someone who'd be as nice to him as you!"

We kept up the silly banter as we poked around the cameras, checking the tags to see if they matched my list of criteria. The stress of the past few days began to ease and I relaxed enough to not spaz out if I saw anything red in my peripheral vision. I don't know why I was so freaked out by that brief encounter…the guy hadn't said anything or even tried to get close to me, but if I had learned anything from the past few years, it was to trust my gut. So caution was high on my priority list these days.

Within moments of us entering the section, a sales guy came over and offered to help. Simon hung back, but never farther than an arm's length or two from me, politely deflecting the girls who all suddenly seemed very interested in buying video cameras to film their little purse dogs with or something.

"So, are you ready to buy today?" Dean, my super-helpful salesman, asked curiously, straightening a price tag on the model that I already decided on.

Shaking my head, I tucked my list of required features into purse. "I'm going to sleep on it, but I'll definitely be back tomorrow."

"Great." He smiled and handed me a card. "I'm not on the schedule for tomorrow, but if you're sure you'll be here, I'd be happy to come in for a few minutes in case you have any questions."

"Ok, thanks." Wow, this guy was totally going for sales guy-of-the-year award.

"And, uh-" he shifted a little, a light flush on his cheeks, "maybe we could grab a coffee after? I could show how some of the bonus features work?"

Oh. _Oh_! He was asking me out. A little uncomfortable, I half-turned expecting to see Simon laughing at me. But Simon wasn't there.

A finger of unease tickled at the base of my neck. "Uh, sorry, but I have a boyfriend," I said distractedly, looking for blond hair and a charming grin.

Dean ducked his head, a good-natured smile on his face. "Well, good luck with your purchase then."

"Uhuh." I knew I was being rude, and I hate being rude, but our procedures while out without Kit were very clear. Simon would never have wandered away, not even if Megan Fox herself walked by.

"Simon?" I jogged down the aisle, hair whipping at my cheeks as I frantically searched from side to side.

My heart stopped in my chest and I stumbled. The guy from the parking lot loomed up at the end of the aisle, his unusually light eyes fixed on me. His red baseball cap seemed like a flare under the awful fluorescent lights.

"Oh, my God," I whispered, my throat seizing. My hands flew out, finding purchase on the metal shelves as I skidded to a halt, froze for a moment and bolted in the opposite direction.

The frantic thundering of my heart almost drowned out Kit's words. _Don't just run, run smart_, he'd said. _Where are the exits? Where are you? Where is everyone else? Taking a moment to think can absolutely make a difference._

My brain began computing as I ran, reminding me of Robert Downey Jr.'s calculations in his fight scenes in Sherlock Holmes. I was in the rear half of the store, in several rows of shelving that opened towards the front and back ends of the store. Because of the early hour, few people were even there, and no one was in the back with me. Dammit. Panic ratcheted even tighter around my chest and I had to switch to breathing through my mouth to get enough air.

I rounded the corner to the neighbouring aisle and nearly whimpered. Red-hat had simply shifted a few steps over and now blocked this aisle, too. I checked his hands, he didn't have a weapon and his lips weren't moving in a spell. Half-demon? Who _was_ this guy?

He took a slow step towards me, lips curving up in an utterly humourless smile.

"Where's your boyfriend, Chloe?" he asked in a soft voice, head cocking to the side in the creepy way of the slightly insane.

I immediately thought he was referring to Simon; he had been with me in the store and I suppose to a stranger, we might look like a couple, familiar with each other and affectionate in our playful way. But then how would he know my name?

Another step. I started backing up, realizing that if I got myself back to the aisle that was furthest back, I could sprint around the periphery and hopefully get someone's attention. If this guy was a supernatural or from the Edison Group, he couldn't do much with witnesses around.

"Where's Derek, Chloe?"

"I d-d-don't know w-w-w-w-" my stutter raged out of control, betraying my anxiety. My hands were shaking as I rubbed my damp palms over my thighs. I took a deep breath. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said slowly, enunciating very carefully.

His head tilted a little further to the side and he made a tsk-ing sound. "You're a terrible liar." Those eerily light eyes that had seemed glassy and unfocused became laser-sharp in a second. "Derek Brown. Where is he?" He nodded slowly, as if he was answering some unspoken question. "I saw Simon."

To buy a little more time as I eased myself towards the aisle, I widened my eyes, affecting the dumb-little-blond act that had worked for me so often in the past. "I have no idea who you're referring to." I even forced a little laugh. It sounded reedy and terrified even to my ears. "I'm sure you've mistaken me for someone else."

The flash of anger that crossed his face took my breath away. I had seen Derek in a rage, I had even seen him kill, but I now saw the difference between violence and evil. There was something wrong with this guy.

"Simon Kim, the chink kid," he snarled at me, his scary calm dissipating in a second.

"I've watched you, seen you with them. The other girl, the bitchy one…" he smiled wolfishly. "She looks like she might be a little more forthcoming if I get my hands on her, but you've so conveniently separated yourself from your little group."

A couple of more steps and he would be close enough to lunge and grab me. I dashed around the aisle and sprinted like the hounds of hell were after me, Simon's name ripping out of me on a scream.

A body crashed into mine from the left and I flew towards the wall, flinching, my mind racing as I prepared for impact and planned how I would get away. Except the wall opened into an emergency exit and I realized it was Simon's body propelling mine out of the store and onto a pitted gravel walk next to the employee's parking lot.

"Simon!" I gasped, grabbing his arm, but he shook his head, catching my hand.

"I know, run!"

Our footsteps pounded on the pavement as we flat-out ran towards the main parking, Simon already hitting his panic button and the auto-start. The door crashed into the wall behind us as crazy guy followed, but when I threw a fast look over my shoulder, he wasn't running after us, choosing instead to stride purposefully to the edge of the building, pausing in the shadows.

Simon's phone started ringing just as we reached the car, threw ourselves into it and slammed the locks home.

"Are you alright?" Kit's voice was loud with restrained panic, so loud that even I could hear it. Simon winced and handed it to me.

"You talk, I'll drive."

"Kit?" My voice sounded like hell, thick with tears. I had to yell to be heard over Derek's exclamations and Kit's admonishments to be quiet so he could hear. "We're ok, we're in the car, heading home."

"Don't come straight here," Kit said finally, after Derek subsided into a grim silence that I knew didn't bode well for either Simon or myself.

"Tell him I'm going to the Starbucks near your place," Simon said evenly, moving us quickly and carefully away from the parking lot.

I relayed the message and Kit hung up, reminding me to call him back if there was anything that didn't seem kosher. The adrenaline was still slamming through my bloodstream, making my temples pound and my heart race. I felt nauseous.

"What the hell happened in there?" Simon kept his eyes on the road, both hands on the wheel as he raced us to the coffee shop.

As the panic wore off, I started to shake, tears welling up in my eyes. "I looked up and you were gone, then that guy cornered me. Where were you?" I tried not to let my voice sound accusatory but in the shaken up state I was in, it was difficult.

His jaw tightened. "I literally went to the next aisle to look at something. I had you in my sight the whole time, but I didn't see that guy until you took off. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you. Jesus, when will I learn?"

I really wanted to reassure him, but I was swamped with tremors and my teeth started chattering. I always come through the crises ok, but the meltdowns afterward are rough. Simon wasn't looking too hot either; he was ghastly pale under his usually tanned skin. Cranking the heat on, he looked over at me quickly.

"Oh, God, if something happened to you because I wasn't paying full attention…Derek-" was all he managed before suddenly clearing his throat and going suspiciously silent.

_Oh, God_, was right. To say that it made Derek nervous when I went out without him is a bit of an understatement. The last time we were out, he had not so jokingly pointed out the kid leashes. You know the kind, with the velcro strap that goes around the kid's wrist? I try not to let it get to me; I know that 100% of that overprotectiveness is because of a genuine fear for my safety, but I have had to be careful to keep some balance in my life. Just because there is some slight danger in me going out without Derek doesn't mean that I don't. Being together so constantly isn't healthy, so I make it a point to go out at least once every week with Tori and then at least another time with Simon, and Aunt Lauren and I have a standing date for brunch every Sunday. But now...?

Derek was going to be furious with Simon for not having pasted himself to my side like an attractive (and platonic) barnacle . Derek was going to be furious with me for having gone out without an armed battalion of werewolves. Hell, he was probably going to be mad at himself for not being psychic and realizing something was going to happen. In between shudders, I mentally rolled my eyes. Derek was going to be freaked out for weeks. The poor guy really needs to learn some coping strategies for anxiety.

The car jolted a little as we went into the parking lot outside the coffee shop. I could see Kit's car flying down the street towards us and I stopped trying to hold back the tears. Two minutes. Two minutes and I could be in Derek's arms, listening to him rant, but knowing I was safe. And as for Simon?

Well, lucky for him, if Derek was busy enough holding me, he wouldn't have a free hand to strangle his brother with.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Briee here. I saw that one of our readers pointed out that Derek's last name is Souza and Simon's is Bae. Let me just say, we know that. However, channelling one of our favourite authors (who's not Kelley Armstrong) it's a "KEEEEEEEEEEEEEP READING". bodyandsoul, should we give them a hint? **

**bodyandsoul: I think that it would be DANGEROUS to give them a hint. :P Very, very DANGEROUS…hehe. **

_Disclaimer: We are not Kelley Armstrong, we do not own the rights to Darkest Powers, and we make no money from this._

The moment the car stopped (or possibly even seconds before) Derek was out and running towards us, eyes scanning the parking lot before locking in on me. Scooping me up in his arms, he gave me a crushing hug, surely glaring daggers over my shoulder at his brother.

"Simon, what the fuck happened?"

Now Derek wasn't the type that swore often, but when he did, you knew this was "serious" time.

"I was in the other aisle and some guy cornered her. As soon as I realized what was going on, I found her and we got out."

"Who was he? And how could you let her out of your sight?"

"He knew our names," I said, cutting off Simon's reply as I pulled back enough to look up at Derek's set face and clenched jaw. "He asked me where you were. But he called you Derek Brown." I looked over at Simon. "And he called you Simon Kim."

Kit interrupted, a calming hand on Derek's shoulder. "Let's go inside and find a corner. Standing out here is not the best idea." At his words, all of us took a survey of the area looking for something suspicious.

Shuffling into the Starbucks, Derek never let me go. Even as we sat down, he pulled my seat so close to his that I was almost sitting in his lap. His eyes roamed over the place before resting on me, only to bounce away and scan again. I could see the stress radiating out from him. Kit sat down a few minutes later with a cinnamon latte for me, a fruit smoothie for Simon, and a coffee for himself. Derek was so riled up, coffee was the last thing he would need.

"Ok, tell me what happened."

Between the two of us, we got the story out. I left out the being asked for coffee, thinking that Derek didn't need to worry about other boys trying to get with me on top of the crazy guy following us around.

Kit sighed. "We used the names Brown and Kim for a while when we were in-"

"Albany," Derek and Simon said together, both looking a little grim.

It took me a minute to figure out what they were talking about. "Wasn't that were you guys were before Lyle House?"

When Simon nodded, I clued in. Those reports I read about Derek. About his "anger issues" and "violent outbursts". About the kid who got paralyzed. Derek told me that he really hadn't meant to hurt him.

"I wasn't the only one that saw him though, because Simon saw him, too, right?" When Simon nodded, I continued. "So it's not the ghost of that kid. Maybe someone close to him?"

"Or his brother," Derek said, grumbling the words.

Simon frowned. "Mark? C'mon Derek, I know the guy was an ass to you after what happened, but I don't think he'd be nuts enough to chase us down, especially not this much later."

Kit listened to all this without talking, but now he sat forward. "We can't just ignore the coincidence though. Let me make some calls, see what I can find out."

"I'm taking Chloe home now," Derek blurted, all of a sudden. "I'm staying there with her. I'll be back sometime tomorrow."

Kit gave Derek a look, one I wasn't sure I understood, but he nodded. Giving Derek the keys, he said, "Be careful. Call me if there's anything."

Pretty much lifting me from my chair, Derek escorted me from the Starbucks into the car while watching the parking lot. If he could have, I'm sure Derek would have been turning his head around like an owl searching for predators.

Now wouldn't that be creepy to see.

The drive was silent, though the radio was playing music. Getting out of the car got the same treatment of glaring in every direction. Even a pigeon trolling for stray crumbs got the stink-eye. It flung itself into flight in a flurry of feathers.

I think Derek only felt it was safe after he did a full inspection of my house. Dad was gone again, but for once I was kind of happy about it. I didn't need having to explain to him why Derek was staying the night. "_Oh, hi ,Dad. So, uh, Derek needs to stay here cause he kinda sorta accidentally killed someone and possibly his brother is maybe here to get revenge. Sort of._"

Yeah, 'cause that would go over _so_ well.

With the doors locked and Derek a bit more at ease, I was able to take a breath of relief. In his arms, everything was getting better. I could relax.

"Let's get you into bed," Derek said, picking me up. Normally, I might have complained at being carted around like a giant stuffed animal, but tonight I was content to let Derek bring me to bed. Once in my room, he gave me privacy to change while he used the bathroom and put his pjs on as well.

I debated pulling out the lingerie but I knew tonight was not the night for that. Instead, I picked shorts and a t-shirt, too tired to care how I looked.

Derek came back in and I excused myself to do my nightly routine. Wash face. Brush teeth. It was just that: a routine. I got back into my room half wondering if I had brushed my teeth or not. The only sign of it was the minty freshness of my mouth.

Lying next to Derek, I snuggled into his embrace.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I should be asking you that."

"I'm shaken, but it's not like that guy was really after me."

"He probably would have used you how he could to hurt me." Derek sighed. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. You're safe, you're here in my arms." He kissed me softly. "You're safe."

Derek's lips pressed against mine again, a comforting sort of kiss. Kissing him back, I knew that these kisses were a comfort to both of us.

I felt his tongue stroke once over my lips and I opened my mouth, sliding my own tongue against the slick glide of his. Derek's hands moved down my body, stroking the skin over my hip where my shirt rose up.

Suddenly, what started as comfort kisses turned into something more. There was an urgency to Derek's lips. They moved from my mouth to my neck and my brain went blank.

It didn't take long for both of us to get riled up. I could feel Derek's arousal pressing into my leg. His hands moved up my shirt, going slowly. I could have told him to stop, but I didn't want him to.

Finally, when his hand cupped my breast and his thumb flicked my nipple, I arched into his touch.

Moaning his name, I felt him grin against the skin of my neck. "Can I take off your shirt?"

"Yes…"

In a quick motion, I was sitting and the shirt was thrown to the floor. Derek's eyes gazed at my chest and for a moment I wondered if I should be covering up, but he had seen me shirtless before. Gently pushing me down again, his mouth latched onto my nipple. While his mouth worked on one, his thumb was making circles on the other.

With no parents at home, I could make all the noises I wanted. Usually we had to be quiet, but now there was no one to hear, so I buried my instinctive self-consciousness at how I must sound and just went with it, my hands yanking blindly at the hem of his t-shirt. But I was too lost to him, so I just stroked his back through the material until he pinched me gently and my nails scored little crescents on his shoulders as I gasped.

Grinning, Derek started kissing down my stomach. Just as he reached the bottoms of my shorts, I stopped him. "Promise me something."

"Anything."

"Don't stop this time."

Those predatory eyes shone in the dark. "Believe me, I won't."

If I wasn't hot before, I was on fire now.

Tugging off my shorts and panties, Derek drew in a breath. There I was, lying naked in front of him. I pictured the scene from above, with me splayed out like a fillet and a full-body blush arrived on cue. I wanted to cover myself, but I didn't. Embarrassment wouldn't take away from this moment if I didn't let it. Even though I was trembling, my confidence grew. "Take off your shirt," I said to him, amazed at how husky my voice sounded. He whipped it off before settling between my legs.

Before I could ask him what he was doing, since his face was definitely nowhere near mine, he said. "I'm going to kiss you now."

Nothing could prepare me for having Derek Souza kiss me in the most intimate of places.

He had to place his hands on my stomach to hold me while I bucked. His tongue was warm and wet and it felt as if he was licking me up. I could hear him moan at my taste and didn't that send me crazy.

All of a sudden, I could feel his tongue find my clit. Pleasure coursed through me as Derek kept up a steady rhythm.

I squirmed against him and he had to tighten his grip on me. Suddenly, it was like all the tension in my body just disappeared and a feeling of absolute joy overcame me. Crashing back to Earth, I could feel Derek lapping me up. He pressed a kiss to the inside of my thigh, where my muscles shuddered at the contact.

"You are delicious," he said, peering up from between my legs. The grin on his face was amazing and I couldn't help but smile.

That was one look I wanted to keep in my memory for the rest of my life.

Crawling back up my body Derek took me in his arms and pressed me against him. Tired, I snuggled into him. "But what about you?"

"What about me?" he asked.

I moved my hand downwards, but Derek stopped me. "Another night." He gave me a kiss and I could taste myself on his lips. "Tonight was all about you."

"But…"

"No buts." He made a contented sound. "Knowing I've given you pleasure makes me happy." Derek took the hand that had been trying to sneak downwards and placed it on his chest, right above his heart.

No words were needed at that moment and soon I was lulled into sleep by the rhythm of Derek's heart beating.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Howdy doody, readers! Here's our lovely Chapter 8, up a day early. I so love when I'm able to stay on schedule! Anyways, just a little bit more action of the non running-for-our-lives variety…don't read if you don't like LEMONADE, hehehe. Also, there's a teeny little shout-out in here to one of Briee's and my favorite authors. PM me if you think you've found it and you win the super-crazy-awesome prize of a shout-out for the next chapter. Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: We are not Kelley Armstrong, we don't own Darkest Powers, we make no money from this. If we did, I'd be driving something nicer_ :D

* * *

I woke up in my favorite way. I was in my enormous bed, blankets tucked up to my chin and Derek's body pressed up against my back. He didn't kiss me or nuzzle closer, so I guessed that he was still asleep. Burrowing my head a little deeper into my pillow, I sighed in contentment and nestled just a bit closer to Derek's incredible warmth. His arm tightened around my waist in response to my movement.

Suffice it to say that his arm wasn't the only part of him that responded…Muffling a giggle in the blanket, I gingerly shifted so that I was fully tucked into the curve of Derek's body, pressing lightly back against him.

"Mmph."

Ah, the sleeping giant awakes, I thought, just as Derek's chin came to rest on my head.

"'Morning," I said softly, not wanting to break the fragile spell that comes just after waking up.

"Mffrrning." I decided to take that as a return of my greeting and smiled, turning over to get a sleepy nuzzle.

"Mmm," he murmured after a leisurely kiss. "How did you sleep?"

Even though I'm positive he meant that question in the most innocent of ways, it immediately brought his "good night kiss" to mind and I felt my body flush when I remembered the incredibly erotic way he'd grinned up at me from between my legs.

"G-good." Damn. My stutter has always been a dead giveaway. Well, that and the furious blush I could feel staining my cheeks. And just to make my mortification complete, my body reacted to the image I had just pictured and I knew Derek's uber-keen sense of smell would pick up on that.

"I see." I saw his lips twitch upwards.

Groaning, I buried my face against his chest. "This is so embarrassing."

"Why? It's a physical response to arousal."

Trust Derek to apply his unique logic to this.

I gestured wildly, my face still hidden, the blanket falling off my shoulder as I waved my hand around. "I was…I-I..oh, God…I was making noises and-and I was out of control and-"

He caught my hand and drew it down, carefully tucking the blanket over me again as he sighed. "Chloe, you're being ridiculous about this."

"No, I'm not." Okay, maybe I was just a bit.

"Yes, you are." He pulled his upper body away so that he could look me in the eye. "Hearing you and seeing you and-" he broke off for a second, his eyes closing as he unconsciously ran his tongue over his bottom lip, "tasting you…it was…"

Still blushing like mad, but now completely aroused, I licked my suddenly dry lips and eased closer. "It was...?"

When his eyes opened, they were burning. "It was the hottest thing I could have ever imagined."

"I see." Slowly, I pushed up onto my hands and knees, half-lying across his chest. His nostrils flared as the air stirred and his hands came up to grip my hips, effortlessly pulling me across him as he lifted his head to kiss me.

"Uh-uh," I whispered reproachfully, bracing my hands on his shoulders as I sat up, straddling him. "If last night was all about me, then this morning is all about you."

If his stare got any hotter or more intense, it would incinerate me, I thought. But as my hands went to the hem of the t-shirt I had pulled on when I'd gotten up to pee in the middle of the night, I found that I'd survive that emerald fire just fine.

"Chloe-"

"Shh." I pulled the shirt up and off, leaving me in just my panties. His hands landed on my thighs and he gripped them, pulling me down onto his erection even as he shook his head.

"You don't-"

My palm covered his mouth firmly and I leaned down to kiss the hammering pulse at the base of his neck. Mm. His skin was warm and woodsy, and I let my tongue sneak out for a quick taste.

"I know," I whispered against his skin. "I want to…t-to…" Damn my stutter! One steadying inhale helped. "I want to taste you."

His breath rushed out, one hand sliding deep into my hair as he arched up under me. God, like that wasn't hot, having Derek at my mercy like this. I felt powerful, like I did when I was drawing souls through the barrier of death and back into this world. But instead of being afraid of my power, sick with fear of what I could do, this felt good. It felt right.

"Don't you want that?" Was I really saying those words in that husky voice? Suddenly I felt worthy of the sexy lingerie that I had bought. "Don't you wonder?"

Derek dragged in an unsteady breath, trying to urge my lips to his. I slipped free, catching his wrists and pinning them lightly over his head. It was a joke; we both knew that he could free himself with a flick, but he allowed me my moment of dominance, green eyes hot when they met mine.

"Don't you wonder?" I repeated, rolling my hips against him.

His eyes nearly rolled back in his head, but he licked his lips and forced out a labored, "Yes."

I decided that his answer deserved a reward so I leaned down to kiss him, which just pushed my lower body harder against his. I thought he'd yank his wrists free then, and that I'd end up half-crushed under him, but he restrained himself, letting his kiss show his urgency instead.

My palms were damp when I finally pulled away, easing myself down his body, stopping to kiss or nibble any little bit of skin that tempted me. There's one ridge of muscle that brackets the top of his abdominal muscles that I particularly like, and I paid it the special attention that I felt it was due, letting my courage build as I explored him in a way that we had rarely had the time or privacy to do before now.

Finally, realizing it was a now-or-never kind of moment, I closed my eyes, keeping my face pressed against his stomach as my hand coasted over the muscles of his six-pack, traced the deep, cut line along the inside of his hip and followed it right to my goal, pushing his boxers out of my way.

Derek sucked in a breath, every muscle tensed as I curled my hand around him, amazed at the hot, silky skin that covered the rock hard core of him.

"It's so big," I blurted, my brain finally making the connection that that was going to have to fit inside me at some point, and then rejecting that idea as impossible.

When I heard a strangled sound, I looked up, worried, but Derek's eyes were twinkling at me even as his face was set in intent lines.

"You say the nicest things," he said with a teasing little half-grin, before pushing his head back into the pillow when I tightened my grip just a little.

"Is this ok?" I asked, looking down to watch, fascinated, as I stroked him, intrigued by the whole experience. "I don't know if I'm doing this right."

"Jesus, any better and I'd have been done already," he groaned, but he brought one hand down to wrap around mine, closing my fingers even tighter. "It's ok," he said when I made a noise and tried to loosen my hand. "Trust me, you're not hurting me."

Deciding that he knew best, I obligingly kept my grip firm, and his hand fell away after a few more seconds, fingers twisting in the sheet next to his hip. I eased my body a bit further down so that I could see him up close, trace the faint tracks of veins and explore. A drop of clear liquid appeared, and, suddenly brave, I leaned in and inhaled the warm, faintly salty smell before my tongue lapped it up.

If I had poked Derek in the butt with an electrical cow prod, I don't think his reaction would have been any less extreme. With a full-body spasm, he swore as his eyes flew open, hands already trying to grab me to pull me up.

Since I would clearly lose in any battle of strength, I waged my war a different way. Parting my lips, I slipped them over the head of his erection, amazed at my actions and getting more turned on by the moment. That froze him quite effectively, and I smiled to myself as I mimicked what I had seen from my few expeditions into sex manuals.

Tori had warned me that I might not like this, but so far I was enjoying myself. My opportunities to have Derek so completely at my mercy were few and far between, not to mention that hearing him and seeing his reactions to what I was doing were pretty much the hottest things ever and made me feel like a goddess.

I had a moment of slight panic when his hands came to cup my head; if he pushed my head down I was going to gag, I knew it, but his hands just rested there, stroking my hair softly. Looking up along his body, I met his eyes, glazed and slightly unfocused.

"I-" he broke off with a groan. "Chloe, I'm almost there."

Figuring that I might as well be honest, I let him slide free of my mouth, keeping the rhythm going with my hand though. "What do I do?"

A hoarse half-whimper, half-laugh broke out of him. "You've done plenty."

"No." Feeling stubborn, I shook my head. "I want you to finish."

Brow furrowed almost as though in pain, Derek nodded slowly. "Then keep going, just faster."

Never having seen a guy orgasm before, I opted to keep going with just my hand; I wanted to see everything.

Derek's already jagged breathing grew even more labored, his chest pumping hard with each breath. His legs started shifting restlessly and his hands clenched in the sheets hard enough that his knuckles turned white. If it's even possible, he grew harder in my hand and then suddenly his whole body seized up. His eyes flew open and then slammed shut as I felt deep, hard spasms rock him.

Jets of thick, whitish liquid came out of him in rhythm with those spasms, scalding hot. I watched, fascinated, alternating between watching his face, teeth clamped down on his lower lip and watching my hand as I slowed and then finally released his erection.

For a minute, the only sound in the room was Derek's harsh breathing, until he cleared his throat.

Noting the mess on his stomach and the stickiness of my hand, I slid off the bed and darted into the bathroom to get a wet facecloth. When I looked in the mirror, my eyes were wide and my face was flushed, but I didn't look like little-girl-Chloe anymore. Winking saucily at my reflection, I went back to Derek, who accepted the facecloth with a nod of thanks and just a touch of shyness.

I busied myself at my bureau, pulling on some yoga pants and another t-shirt, trying to give Derek some privacy to tidy up. When I turned, he had already pulled his boxers back up and was watching me with an inscrutable look. I hopped back onto the mattress and stretched out alongside him, resting my head in its usual nook by his shoulder.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't even think about it," I said with a chuckle, tilting my chin up so I could look at him as I sighed. "That was amazing."

His jaw clenched for just a second, but then he slanted a look down at me, a tiny grin starting to show. "I think that's my line." Finally, he turned onto his side, cuddling me close. "And yes, you're amazing."

"I know," I said smugly, sneaking a quick kiss, morning breath and all. His fingers dug into my side and I squealed, squirming as he rubbed his stubbled face in my neck as he kept tickling. "Ok, ok, you're amazing, too!" I choked in between gasps.

We settled down after that, foreheads resting together as we smiled at each other. But my smile faded as I realized it was time to get up. There was still a crazy guy after Derek, determined to get to him no matter who he had to use. I was sick and tired of being hunted; it had taken us a year to finally feel free of the people who had wanted to see us dead, and I was furious that this maniac had showed up when we were all just starting to get used to being normal again.

"You're growling," Derek said softly, tucking some hair behind my ear.

"You've rubbed off on me," I replied, pinching him gently when he snickered. "_Someone_ has a dirty mind. You know what I mean."

"Yeah." He was quiet for a moment, one hand moving on my back. "Don't worry about him, Chloe. I'm not going to let him get to you again."

"Mmhmm." I knew Derek could protect me, but it was time for someone to protect Derek. I had to find out who this guy was and get rid of him, by myself if necessary. This had to end. Now.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Briee here. Hope you like the chappy. I quite enjoyed my ending. Wish I could have kept going, almost did, but thought, "Nah. It's a good place to end." Hope you are all having a good holiday, no matter which holiday you celebrate!**

Disclaimer: We are not Kelley Armstrong, we don't own Darkest Powers and we make no money from this.

* * *

Even though we tried being extra careful when we went out, Kit told us to be hyper vigilant while Mark was hanging around. I wasn't sure how much things would change; we never went out alone before anyways. The only thing I knew was that Derek was no longer letting me go out without him.

Part of me was glad I had bought the lingerie before this event.

A few weeks after Derek and mine's intimate adventure, we were hanging out at his place. Kit was home though, meaning no more intimate time. I was getting a little antsy, considering Derek and I hadn't had much time for anything more than a make out.

As we were watching tv, Simon and Tori barged through the door, carrying bags from the super market.

"If I didn't already want to zap that slimeball…" Tori was saying, grunting slightly with her heavy bag. Kit rushed in to take it from her.

"Slimeball?" he asked.

Simon nodded, holding his two bags. The three of them proceeded to the kitchen and Derek and I, curious, followed.

"Mark. Tried to corner us in the supermarket. Came right behind and told Tori 'You know that Simon drops his girls like flies. Better watch out you're not next.' He then ran off before either one of us could send a spell his way."

"You guys know that using your magic in the supermarket wouldn't have been a good idea. He doesn't know about your powers," Derek said.

Kit nodded, but looked a bit sick. "It's a human fight, not a supernatural one."

Tori scoffed. "Yeah but we're supernaturals. He's the one who doesn't know what he's up against." She laughed. "And to think that he called Simon my boyfriend. Like, ew."

Simon pretended to be hurt. "Your words Tori. How they wound me. What's wrong with me?"

Another laugh came from the witch. "Sorry, but you're just not my type." She hit him gently on the arm.

Simon laughed. "Don't worry. You're kinda like a sister to me anyways. So definitely not interested either."

By this time, Kit looked positively green. He hadn't told them about Tori being his daughter. I wasn't sure he even knew that I knew. Looking at Simon and Tori, they were oblivious to Kit's reaction. Even Derek was having fun watching them bicker back and forth, rubbing the small of my back at the same time.

Kit excused himself for a moment. I wondered if he was ever going to tell them.

When he came back in a few minutes later, he busied himself to get supper started, asking each of us to pitch in. The burgers needed to be cooked, the salad made, the fries put in the oven and the table set.

While we ate though, I could tell Kit was forcing himself to act as if nothing was wrong. He did such a good job that even I at times couldn't detect the uneasiness from before. But how could Derek not pick up on it?

Derek offered to drive me home that night and I readily accepted. I was hoping we could finally have some alone time. Being next to him and his constant touching lately was making me crazy.

He came in to spend some time with me. I found it convenient that my dad was gone again.

Derek was silent, taking my hand and leading me to my room.

But as we walked through the door, there was no mad rush of Derek lunging for me. No pressing up against the wall.

He sat on my computer chair and I sat on the bed.

"We need to talk about Mark."

"What about him? We know he's dangerous. We know we need to find a way to get him to go away."

Derek sighed. "It's dangerous having him here. He could find out about us."

"Would anyone even believe him if he went around claiming you were a werewolf or that Simon is a sorcerer?"

"No, probably not. But we just don't need that right now. Or ever really, if I can help it."

"But you can't. You can't be there to protect everyone all the time. Simon and Tori went to the store, not some back alley. Between the two of them, they can protect themselves."

Another sigh. "I know. I just feel…" He put his head in his hands. I had a feeling the words on his lips were going to be 'helpless' but I didn't push it. Suddenly, he chuckled, which startled me. "Mark thought Tori was another one of Simon's girlfriends." Another laugh. "As if the two of them would be together. Although they do fight like a married couple."

"Or brother and sister," I said, before realizing what I said. I tried to mask the horror at what I just said but Derek caught it.

"What?"

"N-n-nothing." _Dammit!_

"Chloe…"

I looked away. Dammit, why couldn't I keep my mouth shut? "Maybe you should talk to Kit."

"You brought it up. Tell me."

I sighed. "I still think you should talk to Kit. But…" I paused, trying to get my words right. "I think Tori is Kit's daughter." Blunt, but I didn't know how else to say it.

Derek looked at me in shock. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't know it for sure. There are a few things, but the main one that really made me believe it is today, when Tori and Simon came back from the store. Did you see how Kit reacted to Mark's comment? He looked sick just thinking about the idea that they would be together."

Derek pressed me for more information and I gave him my speculations.

"Look Derek, like I said, I don't know for sure. That's why I think you should talk to Kit."

There was a huge silence between us as Derek processed the information. I felt terrible. It wasn't my place to tell him this news. And like I told him, I wasn't 100% sure. What if I was wrong?

"Who else have you told?"

"No one. I've kept it to myself until now."

"Keep it that way." Derek's tone was harsh.

I sighed. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't. You should have told me though."

"And what would you have done with this information?" Suddenly, I was upset. Who was he to talk to me like this?

"Nothing. But-"

"No. Derek, look, I said I wasn't sure. So why would I go tell you something if it was just a speculation, a maybe? It's Kit's secret, not mine. And it wasn't my place to tell anyways."

Derek looked away. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry." He mumbled his way through the whole sentence.

"I didn't hear that. Can you repeat it please?" I tried keeping a straight face. I probably looked constipated.

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"Again?"

By this time I was giggling and Derek's lips turned upwards.

"How about I show you?"

Before I could say another word, Derek came over to the bed, pushed me down and was on top of me in under a minute. His lips found mine and I happily kissed him back.

That night, Derek tossed and turned in my bed. He was sweating, mumbling incoherently. His leg shot out and he threw the blankets to the floor. A whimpering noise came from his throat that turned into a growl.

"Derek?"

He mumbled again, but he didn't open his eyes.

"Derek?" I poked him. "Derek, wake up."

Jumping straight out of my bed, Derek was in fighting stance. But he looked disoriented as if he didn't understand why he was ready to fight.

"Chloe?" His arms dropped to the side but then he brought his hand up to run through his hair. He shook his head then got back into bed. "Sorry. I guess I was just dreaming."

His cheeks were flushed and he was still sweating. "Are you going to change?"

Derek shrugged. "Not tonight."

"You need to change soon though. How about tomorrow night?"

Derek shrugged again, but he averted his eyes. "You're not busy right?"

"No. Why?"

He shook his head. "I like it when you're there."

I smiled at him, snuggling up to him. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

He chuckled softly. "Go back to sleep. I'll be back in a minute." He got up and went into my bathroom. I heard the water turn on.

The next night, bundled in my coat and a hat, I sat down on my usual log as Derek got undressed. The weather was still cool, and I vaguely wondered if Derek would be okay naked. Then I remembered he'd soon have a fur coat on, one that no protestor would splash paint on.

The changes were starting to come a bit faster, and though I still inwardly cringed just a bit, both of us seemed to be getting into the rhythm of it.

A quick nudge and he was off, running, his tongue out of his mouth.

I had an image of Derek, human Derek, with his tongue out between my legs. A naughty grin caught my lips but I pushed the thought away. A wolf Derek shouldn't bring out those thoughts; part of me wondered if that could be considered bestiality but I laughed the moment I thought it. It wasn't like I was fantasizing about wolf Derek, but rather human Derek. So it was just a case of teenage hormones.

Pulling out my notebook, I scribbled in some thoughts which soon turned into a mini-screen play. When a branch cracked, I looked around carefully, but I didn't see anything. Was it just Derek or an animal that could sense him? Probably.

But going back to my work was difficult. I kept one ear out for any odd noises and my screen-play started making no sense.

Sighing, I gave up just as Derek returned. He nudged me before going behind a bush. I moved to go over to his clothes when a pair of arms grabbed me from behind.

"Don't scream," said the voice, a hand over my mouth.

When I nodded, he put his hand down. Good thing too, or else I would have bitten it, even though it smelt a little funky.

"Where's Derek?"

I kept my mouth shut.

"Chloe, where is he? I saw you guys walk in here together."

There was a groaning sound and I was sure Derek knew what was going on. Knowing him, he was trying to rush back to human to protect me.

Glancing around, I tried to figure out if there were any bodies that I could bring up to help me. I didn't want to be helpless and even though it creeped me out seeing the zombie animals, I had to do something.

Just as I thought I could pull up a rabbit, Derek popped up from the bush, naked and looking tired.

"There he is." Unable to see his face, I'm sure there must have been a bit of shock. "Derek, why are you naked?"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello lovely readers...bodyandsoul here, and I apologize for the 4 day delay, but for the amount of money I hemorrage away on tuition, school has to come first. :S Anyways, here's the chapter of our little story, and even though we forecasted 10 chapters for this one, we're planning on a little epilogue for your reading pleasure, and we hope to resume this story under a new title sometime in May. I apologize for the long delay between stories, but life is a bitch on occasion. You guys have been absolutely fantastic and it's because of your amazing confidence in us that we embarked on this second story and are planning on a third. Thank you, so much, from both of us. :) And without further ado, please enjoy...**

_Disclaimer: We are not Kelley Armstrong, we do not own the rights to Darkest Powers and we make no money from this. _

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Derek must have been more exhausted from the Change than I had thought; I don't know how he had missed Mark's presence in the woods. As if sensing my moment of panic, Mark's grip on my shoulder tightened painfully and he pulled a switchblade from his pocket, the wicked blade unsheathing with a muted hiss. I couldn't muffle my gasp as he pressed it between my shoulder blades; he was really wound up, and his unnatural enjoyment had him pushing a little too hard, so that I felt a trickle of blood run down my back.

"Mark," Derek snarled, instantly switching into fight mode. I knew when he caught the scent of my blood; his eyes went feral and I could see him struggle not to throw himself at Mark in fury.

"I'm ok," I whispered, knowing he could hear me. The last thing I wanted was for him to get hurt because he didn't have his head in the fight. His eyes flicked towards me, just enough to let me know he had heard, and that he was fully in control.

"Derek," Mark replied, keeping me as a shield, dragging me with him as Derek started circling him. He sounded distracted, his already-disturbed mind further fractured by having to keep track of Derek and I at the same time. "Why are you naked?"

Wow. Despite the tenseness of the situation, I rolled my eyes. Captain of the obvious here…

"Let Chloe go and we'll deal," Derek said, maintaining eye contact with Mark as he subtly drew the circle tighter, bringing him nearly close enough to grab me.

I shuffled around with Mark at my back, analyzing my options. Derek was physically drained from the Change; they came a little easier now, but as his smooth stride stumbled, it was obvious to both Mark and I that he was in no shape to engage in a full on fight. Plus, Mark was obviously deranged; crazy people can often exhibit an almost superhuman strength, which would _so_ not be good right now. I knew that if there was any way to get me away from Mark, Derek would prefer a flight response as opposed to a fight right now. Frankly, I was in the mood to run for my life; watching my boyfriend get injured or – I shuddered – killed in front of me wasn't really high on my interest list. And I knew for sure that Derek felt the same way.

Suddenly realizing Derek was trying to get within snatching range, Mark yanked me back; we both stumbled back several steps and I whimpered when I felt the knife sink a little deeper into my back. It occurred to me that if Mark fell and dragged me with him, I was done for.

Shit.

Panicked, I sought Derek's eyes. Oh God, this was killing him. Every single wolf instinct must have been screaming bloody murder for him to fight, to annihilate the threat to his mate, but his brain was competing, trying to keep his reason in charge. I took myself firmly in hand; if I showed distress, it would just make it that much harder for him. I could manipulate souls and re-animate the dead, I wasn't helpless, even though I had to choke back a scream when Mark adjusted his grip, jostling the sharp tip of the knife in the shallow cut it had already made.

"No, no, Derek," Mark singsonged, laughing disturbingly as he made sure I blocked as much of him as possible. Oh yeah, because Derek might have a concealed weapon somewhere on his naked body. But considering what the guy had done to Mark's brother, I could see why Mark wanted to protect himself. Not that I was okay with him using me as a shield, mind you. "We're not negotiating a goddamned thing."

"So what's this about?" I asked.

His hot breath whooshed by my ear as he laughed again. I was really hating his laugh; it reminded me of Heath Ledger's Joker…at any moment I was expecting him to ask if I wanted to see a magic trick. I had to suppress a shudder.

"Oh, she speaks," he chuckled. "Well, Chloe – what a perfect name for you, all innocent and shit – Derek here killed my brother. I don't know about you, but I loved my brother, so I think it's only fair, one dead loved one for me, one dead loved one for Derek."

"B-but Derek didn't kill your brother."

Mark snarled in my ear. "He was a fucking cripple afterwards, killed himself after six months. Derek didn't pull the trigger, but he might as well have."

I forced the fear aside, trying a last ditch effort to reason with this wacko. "Mark, you know Derek won't let you get away with killing me, right?"

"Oh, I know." He leaned down and rubbed his cheek against mine, grinning when Derek barely checked a lunge towards us. "I'll just join my brother then, but Derek…well, Derek will have to live with being the cause of not just my brother's death, but yours, too."

Derek's face closed off even more, looking like it had been carved from stone. "I'll die myself before I let you hurt her."

Mark licked the side of my face. I grimaced and jerked in his hold, trying to keep my face away from him. But then I realized his grip had altered, and the hand with the knife had drawn back. Shit. He was trying to distract Derek with my distress so he could stab me.

Fortunately, Derek's years of martial arts training were more attuned to Mark's arm moving than to my frown. I wrenched hard to one side as he sprang at Mark, tackling him neatly as I rolled and regained my feet in a smooth move.

"Derek!" All I could think about was the knife.

"I'm ok," he grunted, struggling to hold Mark's arms outstretched. "My cell- oomph!"

Mark head-butted him in the stomach and they went rolling. This felt like the fight with Liam; I couldn't even get a knife in there because I might stab the wrong person. With human weapons useless, I knelt next to a tree and – even though I felt like I was abandoning Derek – closed my eyes as I summoned.

As always, my power was a delicious yet terrifying rush through my body, but the ever-present anxiety dampened it, helped me control it. Just as I was about to reach out with it, Derek made a horrible gurgling sound and I saw him spasm as blood sprayed.

"Derek!" I screamed, but caught in the half-trance of drawing power, instead of using my physical body to run towards him, I accidentally channeled the full fury of my power towards the struggling bodies on the mossy forest floor. Protecting Derek became the sole focus of my world, and my mind blanked, acting on instinct. I felt the sick pulse of Mark's soul within reach and with a cry of pure rage, I seized it, my power almost visible as I tore it free from its mortal body and slammed it through to the afterlife.

The sudden quiet was stark, broken only by the hitch of my breathing as I opened my eyes to see Derek half-draped over Mark's motionless body.

"Derek. Derek!" I scrambled over to them, skinning my hands in my hurry to get to Derek.

"Chloe," he coughed, wincing as he pushed himself shakily up to his knees. "I'm ok. I'm ok."

He gasped with pain as I threw myself into his arms, frantically running my hands over him. "You're hurt, you're bleeding."

"Shh." He caught my hands in one of his, the other tilted my chin up to look at him. "It's just a flesh wound, ok? Are you alright?"

I just stared into his eyes, unbelievably relieved. "Uh, yeah, I think so." I twisted my head around, trying to see the wound on my back. "I don't think it's bleeding anymore."

When I turned my head back, I realized we were sort of kneeling on Mark's corpse and I shuddered when I looked down into his clouding eyes. I knew they were going to haunt me.

Derek boosted himself to his feet with a grumble for the slice on his ribs, stepped over the body with complete disregard for it and pulled me to him, wrapping his body around mine as his palms chafed my arms. "Don't look at him, Chloe. He's not worth it."

The shakes started, in both of us, but I didn't look away from Mark. "I ripped his soul out."

"What?" Derek pulled back a little; my words had been muffled by his chest.

"I killed him."

He started to shake his head, probably ready to tell me that he'd crushed Mark's windpipe or something, but I knew better. That soul had been fully alive when I'd gotten to it. "Derek, don't. I didn't know that was possible, but somehow I took a living soul out of a living body."

He pulled me tight against him again. "He was going to kill you, Chloe. Remember our promise?"

After escaping from the Edison Group, after killing Davidoff through Diane Enright, Kit had talked to us about guilt. He'd explained that there would be times where we'd have to kill in self-defense, and made us promise that when that happened, that we wouldn't torment ourselves with guilt. That promise was ok in theory, but faced with my handiwork in the form of an emotionally disturbed teen, dead by my will, I knew I'd be waking up screaming more than once in the coming nights.

"I know," I whispered, leaning into Derek's chest. "I know."

I won't go into it further, but suffice it to say that we were getting disturbingly skilled at disposing of dead bodies. Finally, filthy and exhausted, we hunted up Derek's clothes and all but fell into the car. I left the requisite phone call to Kit up to Derek and focused on getting us back to my condo, my hands clenched on the wheel the whole way. Paying attention to the road seemed unimportant, but I forced myself.

Kit was understandably upset, but after assuring him for the sixth time that we were fine, he finally agreed that we were allowed to crash at my place for the night, and that we'd get together to discuss things in the morning. I think he sensed that we – I – needed some time to regroup before facing more questions. I silently thanked him for it.

Fortunately we'd managed to cover bloodstains with clothes and strategically held arms, and no one noticed anything as we boarded the elevator and headed up.

Once inside, we stripped in silence, putting everything into a bag that we would burn tomorrow. I held out a hand, waiting until Derek closed his around it before leading the way to the bathroom. Derek got the water going, hot enough to fill the room with steam while I got towels ready. Finally, we stepped under the pulsing spray and just stood silently, wrapped in each other's arms under the water as it washed blood down the drain. If only memories could be wiped clean so easily…


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: Heeeeeeeeeello lovely readers! I apologize again for such a delay between updates, but I am currently in Hong Kong (I live in Canada) for work and getting internet here has been absolutely ridiculous! Anyways, here's the epilogue to this story, but never fear, my cousin and I have too much fun writing these joint stories, so we're planning another one starting in May. By then I will have graduated (at long last!) and I won't be able to use schoolwork as an excuse anymore! Please enjoy the last segment, review if you've enjoyed this story, and please feel free to make some suggestions about what we should be doing with the next story!**

_Disclaimer: We aren't Kelley Armstrong, we don't make any money from this and we don't own the characters.

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Even a month after we had killed Mark, Derek was still blaming himself. No amount of me telling him I was the murderer made him feel better.

That evening, I was sitting on the couch with Derek's arm around me. The movie that was playing was one I had seen before and I decided that Derek and I needed some time together.

I was glad my dad wasn't home.

I looked up at Derek and when he glanced at me, I leaned up to kiss him. He returned the kiss, his lips soft, but part of me felt like he wasn't into it.

When he pulled away, his eyes didn't stay on me. They returned to the television.

_This is getting ridiculous_ I thought, ready to scream. I wanted Derek back to himself. As terrible as it is to say, I had more or less moved past killing Mark. In all reality, I knew that the choice was either his life or mine and Derek's.

The choice had been simple. Still was.

I tried a bit more to get Derek engaged in kissing me, but each attempt seemed weaker than the next.

A brilliant idea struck me and I got up. "I'll be back."

Rushing to my room, I pulled out the sexy slip. I took off all my clothes, leaving on my panties and slipped the silky item over my skin. Looking in that mirror, the feeling of sexiness surged inside of me again. I practiced a seductive smile and, feeling a little foolish but satisfied with the result, threw a robe over my body.

This was either going to be an epic success or an epic disaster.

Coming back into the living room, I stopped at the doorway. Derek turned to look at me and I saw his eyebrow rise. "Everything ok?"

Mustering all the courage I could, I gave him a sexy smile and crooked my finger, telling him to follow me. He got up, confusion on his face, and I walked back towards my room. I looked back once to make sure he was following and when I saw he was, I let the top of my robe slip off my shoulder. I heard Derek's sudden intake of breath.

Where was this vixen in me coming from?

Just before entering my room, I let the robe slip all the way off. I kept my back to him as Derek walked into the room, clutching my robe.

"Chloe?"

I turned around and he gasped. His eyes glazed over and his mouth stayed open. "Derek…"

The moment his name left my lips, he rushed to me and grabbed me. He kissed me hard and I nearly fell backwards. I felt him pick me up so I wrapped my legs around his waist as he walked us towards my bed. He sat on the edge, pressing me closer to him. I took my lips away from his so that I could kiss his neck, biting softly. He moaned, which urged me to bite again.

Placing my hands on the hem of his shirt, I pushed it upwards, making sure to graze my hands along his skin. He lifted his arms and I struggled to get the t-shirt off. It got stuck on his head and he had to help me tug it off.

Guess I wasn't so little-miss-vixen after all.

Derek didn't seem to mind though, his eyes looking at me hungrily. I planted my palms on his chest and pushed him down.

Moving lower, I unbuckled his jeans and tugged them down, the boxers staying on, but barely. I could see the dark trail starting from his bellybutton going past the boxers and I couldn't wait to take them off too.

Looking at Derek, I was sure he wanted the same.

Easing myself down next to him, I started off slowly, teasing him with my fingers. I didn't touch the obvious bulge in his pants, but rather I danced around it. I made sure to brush his erection slowly and when he groaned, I placed my hand on the bulge. I could feel heat radiating through the material and, in a brave moment, I pulled down his boxers as well.

I smiled as I grasped him in my hands. Starting slowly, I moved my hand up and down as I got a rhythm going.

"Chloe…" When I didn't stop, he caught my arm, long fingers easily circling my wrist, stilling my movements. "Chloe," he breathed, resting his forehead against mine. His breathing was jagged, uneven. "If you keep that up, I won't be able to stop."

I didn't even waste time trying to get free of his hold; it wasn't going to happen. I used his proximity to my face to press a kiss to his cheek. His skin burned under my lips.

"I don't want you to stop." Letting my body ease back onto the bed, he was forced to follow or relinquish his hold on me. With his body braced over mine, it was all I could do to not beg him to kick his jeans the rest of the way off and give both of us some relief. "Besides, you'd stop if I asked you to."

He stretched out on top of me, keeping my hands in a gentle hold over my head as he nuzzled my neck, making me squirm as his scruff tickled. His sides expanded on a huff of laughter. "You think I'm such a hero that I could stop on a dime?"

I waited quietly until he met my eyes and I smiled, touching my nose to his. "Yes."

The emotion that flared behind his eyes made my heart stutter. I had accepted a long time ago that I was in love with Derek; the hard part was finding the words to tell him. But that look gave me courage, so I held his gaze as I whispered the words I had waited so long to say to him. "I love you, you know."

If it's possible, the deep forest green of his eyes darkened even more and he just looked at me for so long that I squirmed a little, suddenly realizing how momentous those words were, words that once spoken, could never be taken back. Had I totally mistaken the depth of his feelings for me?

His fingers brushed a stray lock of hair off my face. Belatedly, I realized his hand was trembling, and a slow smile began to spread across my face.

"I love you, too," he said quietly, a tentative grin starting to match mine.

I wanted to hear him say the words again.

Easily breaking free of his hold, I threw my arms around his neck and hauled him down for a kiss that had him chuckling. He rolled onto his back so quickly that I squeaked when I found myself taken along and deposited over him, not that I minded once I wriggled myself into position and then shifted around a little more, just for good measure.

Derek groaned and I couldn't help but grin. He put his hands on my hips, shifting me oh so slightly on top of him.

Kissing him again, I moved from his lips to his neck, biting the soft skin there. "Chloe…"

"Nope, no talking," I ordered, lapping at the mark my love-bite had left. "No thinking, no analyzing." I pulled back and pointed a stern finger at his nose. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, buddy."

He looked up at me, hair mussed and a half-smile playing around his lips. He'd never looked better.

"I don't want to hurt you."

Aaaaaand cue Derek's irritatingly predictable protective instincts. The man was determined to protect me from everything, even himself.

"You might," I said simply, and it was the truth. "But- no, shut up and let me finish! You might hurt me, but it'll only be this once, and it's natural. Derek…" I softened my tone coaxingly and stretched out on top of him, rubbing my cheek affectionately against his. "I'm ready for this, I-" My breath caught as he undulated his body under mine.

"I w-want you." The words came out a breathy whisper. I licked my dry lips while he watched intently. "I need you. Please."

The world literally stopped turning for a little while, I swear. I could feel every ridge and valley of Derek's body and how mine fit them all perfectly. I could hear my blood pounding in my ears and I could count the golden flecks in Derek's eyes.

Suddenly, he chuckled, hands cupping my shoulders. "What if I'm not ready to give up my v-card?"

"W-what?" _Seriously?_

His face got all level and serious. "This is a big step in any relationship and I want my first time to be special."

Goldfish had nothing on the shocked opening and closing of my mouth. He was joking, right? _Right?_

"Uh, Derek…"

His eyes crinkled as he grinned at my befuddled expression.

"Your face!" he snickered. "That was priceless!"

"Smartass," I grumbled, and let one of the straps of the slip slide off my shoulder. His eyes followed it instantly and I shivered with heady delight as I shrugged my other shoulder and the remaining strap obediently followed suit.

His eyes were dark when they met mine and he moved suddenly and precisely, flipping me so that I was under him and somehow managing to dispose of his shirt and jeans at the same time. His lips touched mine softly before cruising down my neck, where my pulse pounded like a marching band, to my collarbones, which he nuzzled before carefully catching the silk of my negligee in his teeth and drawing it down.

I never suspected that my slinky little negligee would seduce me just as much as it would please him. The silk rasped against the tight puckering of my nipples and I bit my lip hard, arching up as my breasts were exposed. I thought Derek would stop then, but he didn't. He just kept easing down my body, dragging the slip with him, until the lacey top of my panties showed.

But even that didn't slow him down; hooking his fingers under the elastic at my hips, he just pulled them off with the slip, everything whisking away from my body with a silky rustle as they hit the floor.

"Derek?" My voice was breathy with excitement and nerves.

"Mmm?" He started kissing a lazy trail up one thigh, his hands looking bigger and darker against the smooth, pale skin inside my leg.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Shh." It was a soothing hush, not one of his usual barked orders. Lying back, I watched from under half-lowered lids, still a little shy about all this, but painfully aroused nonetheless.

His lips were soft and his tongue was magic and within minutes I was clutching handfuls of the sheets in my fists as I cried out, my body trembling as I came. Only then did Derek finish his return journey back up my body, a "I'm the man" grin on his face.

"You ok?"

"Unh," I replied, completely unable to form a coherent sentence for my life.

"Good."

He kissed me then, and that's when I had a chance to finally pay him back a little, raking my nails down his back, making the little noises that I knew made him wild, until we were both panting, nose to nose.

"Please," I whispered. "It'll be fine, you'll see."

He looked torn, but when I hooked a leg around his, bringing his erection to rest against the entrance to my body, he groaned in surrender, pulling away to strip off his boxers and put on a condom from the stash I had hidden in my bedside drawer a week earlier.

"Chloe-"

I dug my nails into his ass and pulled him towards me. "God, Derek, would you just-"

And before I could finish my sentence he was inside me, and I won't lie, it wasn't the best sensation I have ever experienced. I pressed my face into his neck and breathed deeply and slowly.

"I need a minute," I said quietly, feeling his hand stroking my hair, my shoulder, my hip, patient and gentle.

"I'm sorry," he said gruffly. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"I know." After a minute, the pain was receding, and I wriggled around a little.

Derek groaned and his hand tightened on my hip. "Easy."

Delighted with his reaction and much less sore than I had been, I squirmed a little more, pulling Derek's head up. "I'm alright now, just go slow."

I hate to say it, but I hadn't gotten my expectations too high for our first time together. I knew it would most likely be painful for me, but I was pleasantly surprised as Derek started to move. I had thought it would be awkward, but my body rose up automatically under his, following the simple point-counterpoint rhythm that came naturally.

The pain had receded to a dull ache, and the sliding pull of Derek's thrusts set off a warm tingle deep inside me. I gasped at one particularly deep one, and he dropped his face into my hair with a groan.

"I can't-" he rasped, and I could feel how tightly coiled his muscles were, bunched under the sweat-slicked skin of his back.

"It's ok," I whispered, lifting my hips to encourage him to start moving again. "I'm fine, keep going."

When he lifted his head, he brought his hands up to frame my face as he kissed me deeply, moving faster now. After another minute, his smooth rhythm faltered and with a harsh growl, his eyes closed as his entire body seized.

It was amazing. I could actually feel the ripples of his orgasm inside me, and the sensation was just unbelievable. Wrapping my arms and legs around him, I buried my face in his neck and held on, my breath whooshing out in a rush when he collapsed his full weight onto me.

"Sorry, sorry," he mumbled, rolling to the side. Still clinging like a barnacle, I was pulled along, and I hooked my leg up over his hip so that we were still snuggled tightly together.

He was quiet for so long that I finally looked up to see if he had fallen asleep. He was wide-awake, his eyes unreadable. A hand came up to brush some hair back from my face and his fingers lingered on my cheekbone.

"You'd better not apologize," I warned him, my hand coming up to idly stroke his chest.

Surprisingly, he laughed, bear-hugging me and rolling me on top of him. "I wouldn't dream of it. That- _you're_ amazing."

I – predictably – blushed, but I met his gaze. "Ditto."

We lay there for a few more minutes, luxuriating in what I've always heard described as the afterglow. An apt name; my skin was pleasantly flushed and my whole body felt rosy and tingly.

Derek's stomach growled at one point, and I lifted my head with a smile. "Time to eat, huh?"

Eyes still closed, his lips quirked. "Mm, food."

I sat up and swung my leg over to get off of him. "Can I grab a quick shower first?"

"Can I grab you while you grab a quick shower?" he teased, sneaking in a quick butt squeeze while I hunted up my underwear.

I raised a brow suggestively and started backing towards the bathroom. "Come and get me first."

Suddenly, he was crouched on the bed, eyes tracking me intently as he started to slink off, instantly becoming a hunter as I became the prey. "Oh, that's a promise."

Putting out my hands as if to ward him off, I laughed and then squealed as he growled and chased me into the bathroom. "Derek!"


	12. NOTE for all our readers!

To our lovely, awesome, amazing, fantabulous readers,

After a long hiatus, Briee and I have put our diabolical little minds together yet again, and we have decided to continue our collaborative project into a third story. *pause for applause and cheers* We're currently just finishing up our first chapter, and it will be posted under my account within the next two days. No title as of yet, but please keep your eyes peeled for it, it's going to be even better than the last one, and yes, we're keeping it M-rated for a reason. :)

So be on the lookout for it, and thank you for your support!

Bodyandsoul and Briee


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